Sound Reinforcement - Forums for Live Sound Professionals - Your Displayed Name Must Be Your Real Full Name To Post In The Live Sound Forums > AC Power and Grounding

Impossible Ground Loop?? Tried for months.

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kennytroy:
Hello, first I want to thank you for reading this and offering any advice possible.

I have been struggling with a ground loop issue for months now since building my PC, and I have read nearly everything and tried 85% of solutions suggested on the internet - nothing seems to work.

I will give all relevant information as neatly as possible, followed by solutions I have tried.

My PC Build

Motherboard: TUF Z270 Mark II
Graphics Card: GTX 1050 Ti
Power Supply: EVGA 550 G3
Cooling: Corsair H60
Memory: 16GB TridentZ RGB (8gb x 2)
Processor: i7 7700k
Internal Soundcard: Audigy Rx
Monitor: Samsung CF591 27" Curved
Speakers: Yamaha HS7's

** Please note that I purchased my internal Audigy Rx soundcard as a "solution" after already having experienced this buzzing for several months via my graphic card's audio card.

How I'm Connected

I have a lot of wires running between my computer, monitor, and my TV which is wall-mounted directly above my desktop build.  I assumed this was a problem, so for simplicity I disconnected everything and only connected what is necessary to solving this problem.

Wall Outlet -> Power strip with three connections: (1) computer power supply, (2,3) power cords for both Yamaha HS7 speakers

I am connected from the speakers to my desktop via dual 1/4" to 3.5mm aux.

What I've Tried, What Doesn't Work

- Disconnected all other wires that are not my computer's power supply, and my two Yamaha HS7 speaker power cords, does not work
- Purchased an internal Audigy Rx soundcard, does not work
- I have tired three different outlets in my room, and even tried outlets in other rooms, does not work
- My computer is placed on a cardboard box so that it is not touching carpet, does not work
- Tried external USB adapter, does not work
- Tried a second pair of 1/4" to 3.5mm cables, does not work

Other Connections That Work
- Plugging the dual 1/4" to 3.5mm aux into my phone
- Plugging the dual 1/4" to 3.5mm aux into my laptop, with the laptop power cord plugged into the same [or different] outlet as the speakers

What the flying fuck is happening?

I am at a total loss. I was going to buy one of those Hum X ground loop adapters, but I am SO HESITANT to continue spending money on solutions that seem to not be working.

Is there a hardware problem?
Is it a problem with my 1/4" cables?
Is there incompatibility somewhere in the electricity field?
Am I totally fucked?

Thank you guys so much.

Ray Aberle:
Hi Kenny,

Welcome to the Pro Sound forums! There's definitely a lot of great information on here to poke through. The downside is that we're mainly focused on professional audio systems and their associated power and grounding Best Practices and trouble-shooting. Based on the information you provided, and the fact that you don't have this ground loop problem when you plug any other source into your speakers (utilizing the same cables), it sure sounds like the buzz is being produced by something internal on the computer... and that's probably not something we'll be able to help you troubleshoot over the internet.

Don't give up hope- naturally, it's possible that someone on here might be able to give a pointer or two, but I wanted to make sure you have the expectations in mind, and you aren't frustrated if no one jumps on your thread to help. Computer troubleshooting just isn't the primary focus of the ProSoundWeb forums! :)

-Ray

Len Zenith Jr:
Have you tried headphones into your computer? Is there noise present? If no noise is present with headphones than an isolation transformer would most likely solve your problem. The ART DTI is an affordable decent one, there are plenty of others out there too. If the noise is present with the headphones then you have problems with your computer.

Mark Cadwallader:
Have you tried other speakers?  It appears you have the buzz or hum with the speakers, but none without.

Mike Sokol:

--- Quote from: Ray Aberle on June 12, 2018, 10:41:36 AM ---Don't give up hope- naturally, it's possible that someone on here might be able to give a pointer or two, but I wanted to make sure you have the expectations in mind, and you aren't frustrated if no one jumps on your thread to help. Computer troubleshooting just isn't the primary focus of the ProSoundWeb forums! :)

-Ray

--- End quote ---

Kenny, I'm the moderator here and Ray is correct. We do focus on pro-audio issues, but that being said most of us will hook a laptop into a REALLY BIG set of speakers. So we can throw you some ideas you might not have heard yet.

#1) Get a cheap 3-light outlet tester from any big box store (less than $5) and test to make you have properly grounded outlets in the first place.

#2) Listen to the sound the speakers are making to determine if it's actually a hum (caused by an actual ground loop), or maybe a buzz (caused by a lack of shielding on a wire or a complete loss of ANY ground). A hum sounds like you're humming low b flat with your lips closed. But a buzz sound more like humming into a kazoo since there will be a lot of high frequency harmonics.

#3) The audio isolation transformer is a good bet, and that's how most of us in the pro-sound world connect our laptops into large sound systems with different grounding systems. Something like this would work: LINKY

#4) Under no circumstances get an Hum-X ground isolation plug. I'm sure that's not your problem and it won't solve your noise issue. 

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